174 LESSON 20 02 2011 Bhutamidam Sutta This Has Come Into Being FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss-POLITICS IS SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE-Quality of Construction Works-Special Component Plan (SC sub-plan) –VOICE of SARVAJAN HONEYLEAKS-Ambedkar spread awareness on Buddhism in India-On 20-02-2011 Mahatma Jotiba Phule was remembered by Bahujan Samaj Party in Karnataka Head Office
174 LESSON 20 02 2011 Bhutamidam Sutta This Has Come Into Being FREE ONLINE eNālandā Research and Practice UNIVERSITY to VOTE for BSP ELEPHANT for Social Transformation and Economic Emancipation to attain Ultimate Bliss
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http://www.orgsites.com/oh/awakenedone/
Awakeness Practices
All 84,000 Khandas As Found in the Pali Suttas
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Traditionally the are 84,000 Dharma Doors - 84,000 ways to get Awakeness. Maybe so; certainly the Buddha taught a large number of practices that lead to Awakeness. This web page attempts to catalogue those found in the Pali Suttas (DN, MN, SN, AN, Ud & Sn 1). There are 3 sections: |
The discourses of Buddha are divided into 84,000, as to separate addresses. The division includes all that was spoken by Buddha.”I received from Buddha,” said Ananda, “82,000 Khandas, and from the priests 2000; these are 84,000 Khandas maintained by me.” They are divided into 275,250, as to the stanzas of the original text, and into 361,550, as to the stanzas of the commentary. All the discourses including both those of Buddha and those of the commentator, are divided into 2,547 banawaras, containing 737,000 stanzas, and 29,368,000 separate letters.
Course Programs:
LESSON 174
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn12/sn12.031.than.html
SN 12.31
PTS: S ii 47
CDB i 566
Bhutamidam Sutta: This Has Come Into Being
translated from the Pali by
Thanissaro Bhikkhu
Alternate translation: Nyanaponika
On one occasion the Blessed One was staying near Savatthi in Jeta’s Grove, Anathapindika’s monastery. There he addressed Ven. Sariputta, “Sariputta, it is said in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore:[1]
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.
“How is the detailed meaning of this brief statement to be understood?”
When this was said, Ven. Sariputta remained silent.
A second time… A third time the Blessed One addressed Ven. Sariputta, “Sariputta, it is said in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore:
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.
“How is the detailed meaning of this brief statement to be understood?”
A third time, Ven. Sariputta remained silent.
“Do you see, Sariputta, that ‘this has come into being’?”
“One sees with right discernment, lord, that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a learner.
“And how, lord, is one a person who has fathomed the Dhamma?
“One sees with right discernment, lord, that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a person who has fathomed the Dhamma.
“It is in this way, lord, that I understand the detailed meaning of the brief statement in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore:
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.”
“Excellent, Sariputta. Excellent. One sees with right discernment that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one practices for disenchantment with, for dispassion toward, for the cessation of what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a learner.
“And how is one a person who has fathomed the Dhamma?
“One sees with right discernment that ‘this has come into being.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘this has come into being,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘it has come into being from this nutriment,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from the nutriment by which it has come into being. One sees with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation.’ Seeing with right discernment that ‘from the cessation of this nutriment, what has come into being is subject to cessation,’ one is — through disenchantment, dispassion, cessation, through lack of clinging/sustenance — released from what is subject to cessation. This is how one is a person who has fathomed the Dhamma.
“It is in this way that the detailed meaning of the brief statement in Ajita’s Question in the Way to the Further Shore is to be understood:
Those here who have fathomed the Dhamma,
those who are learners,
those who are run-of-the-mill:
When you, dear sir, astute,
are asked this,
tell me their manner of life.”
SN 5.1
BUDDHA (EDUCATE)! DHAMMA (MEDITATE)! SANGHA (ORGANISE)!
WISDOM IS POWER
Awakened One Shows the Path to Attain Eternal Bliss
Using such an instrument
The Free ONLINE e-Nālandā Research and Practice University has been re-organized to function through the following Schools of Learning :
Buddha’s Sangha Practiced His Dhamma Free of cost, hence the Free- e-Nālandā Research and Practice University follows suit
As the Original Nālandā University did not offer any Degree, so also the Free e-Nālandā Research and Practice University.
The teachings of Buddha are eternal, but even then Buddha did not proclaim them to be infallible. The religion of Buddha has the capacity to change according to times, a quality which no other religion can claim to have…Now what is the basis of Buddhism? If you study carefully, you will see that Buddhism is based on reason. There is an element of flexibility inherent in it, which is not found in any other religion.
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar , Indian scholar, philosopher and architect of Constitution of India, in his writing and speeches
IKAMMA,REBIRTH,AWAKEN-NESS,BUDDHA,THUS COME ONE,DHAMMA II.ARHA ,FOUR HOLY TRUTHS,EIGHTFOLD PATH,TWELVEFOLD CONDITIONED ARISING,BODHISATTVA,PARAMITA,SIX PARAMITAS III.SIX SPIRITUAL POWERS,SIX PATHS OF REBIRTH,TEN DHARMA REALMS,FIVE SKANDHAS,EIGHTEEN REALMS,FIVE MORAL PRECEPTS IV. MEDITATION,MINDFULNESS,FOUR APPLICATIONS OF MINDFULNESS,LOTUS POSTURE,SAMADHI,CHAN SCHOOL,FOUR JHANAS,FOUR FORMLESS REALMS V. FIVE TYPES OF BUDDHIST STUDY AND PRACTICE,MAHAYANA AND HINAYANA COMPARED,PURE LAND,BUDDHA RECITATION,EIGHT CONSCIOUSNESSES,ONE HUNDRED DHARMAS,EMPTINESS VI. DEMON,LINEAGE
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Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
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Philosophy and Comparative Religions;Historical Studies;International Relations and Peace Studies;Business Management in relation to Public Policy and Development Studies;Languages and Literature;and Ecology and Environmental Studies
Jambudvipa, i.e, PraBuddha Bharath scientific thought in
Mathematics
Astronomy
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And Andanatomy
POLITICS IS SACRED With GOOD GOVERNANCE
Quality of Construction Works-
Quality parameters have been kept in mind during the large scale constructions of road & bridges. Not only this, but strict and immediate actions have been taken against the culprits, as and when complaints were received.
In relation with the same issue, it is also reminded that the quality of all the construction work done by the collusion of engineers, contractors & the people close to the govt. under the previous SP rule, which is quite clear in front of the people of entire state.
Along with this, the construction work being done under the govt. of Congres party fell off the face when in September 2008, the bridge under construction by the National Highway Authority in the capital city Lucknow on Faizabad road suddenly collapsed leaving behind innumerable casualities. BSP govt. provided every help to the accident victims, alongwith which we demanded thorough investigation of the accident from the Central govt. Till date no one has a clue about the investigation report on the same issue. Similarly, under the flagship of the BJP, govt. of NDA was constructing roads by the National Highway Authority, when an honest engineer tried to put the corruptions going on, into then Prime Minister’s knowledge, in November 203, the engineer was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Bihar.
Special Component Plan (SC sub-plan) –
Everyone is aware that BSP has been very sensitive about the development of the SC/ST people. This is the reason why , during the previous govt. session 2002-03, BSP designed the budget in such a way that the amount fixed for the special component plan is spent in the development of the SC/ST people & is non transferable to any other account or for any other purpose. In the similar regard, that ever since BSP govt. came into rule constant measures have been taken for the Five Year planning schemes, in the year 2007-08 BSP spent 82.1%, in the year 2008-09 it spent 98.7% & in the year 2009-10 it spent 96.1% of the total budjet allotted under the Special Component Scheme. In contrast, to our figures during the 10th Five year planning scheme, only a total expenditure of 60.7% were made. Exactly opposite to this, the behaviour & treatment of other oppositie parties, toward the SC/ST people is not hidden from the common people. The public cannot forget how the congress party transferred the Lump sum amount of Rs.750 crore from the Special Component Plan to the Common Wealth Games.
Similarly, UPA govt. ruled by Congress party conspired & tried to discontinue the reservation for the SC/ST in the Higher Educational Institutions & also tried to impose an Anti SC/ST reservation bill in Lok Sabah. But in both cases , due to the strict objections raised by BSP government, the Congress conspiracies wre washed away.
In regards to the SC/STs, the thinking of other parties is similar to the Congress. The creator of the Constitution Baba sahib Bhimrao Ambedkar, arranged a reservation bill for the progress/betterment of the SC/STs. To change this bill, the then BJP ruled NDA, by all means set up a commission against the bill, which BSP party did not let happen.
Justification of Change in the State Guest Manual – (to be contd.)
VOICE of SARVAJAN HONEYLEAKS
Ambedkar spread awareness on Buddhism in India
“Dr. Ambedkar, the creator of Indian Constitution, spread awareness about the religion in 1956. Today, we need to understand the real meaning of Buddha, Buddhism,”
Buddha is the name of wisdom, Nibbana. It means that you get rid of wrong path and inculcate the right path, with the help of education. In the 21st century with the great technological advancement, Buddhism can create peace, welfare happiness and fraternity.
In Bharath, ie., PraBuddha Bharath, all religions preach the same values of compassion, fraternity towards fellow living beings, since the aboriginal inhabitants are children of the same motherland. It is a matter of pride that this is the only country where all the religions coexist in mutual brotherhood.
Hence Sarvajan Samaj must feel as a matter of pride to include themselves as Buddhist in the Census 2011.
On 20-02-2011 Mahatma Jotiba Phule was remembered by Bahujan Samaj Party in Karnataka Head Office. Large number of BSP activists participated. Shri Marasandra Muniappa presided. Koramangala Muniappa, Shri R. Muniappa, Shri. Chengappa, Shri.Chikkanna, Smt. Lakshimi Gopinath, Smt. Shoba Bellari and many state leaders paid tributes to the Mahatma.
Mahatma Jotirao Govindrao Pule
Childhood:
Jotirao Phule was born in 1827. His father, Govindrao was a vegetable vendor at Poona. Originally Jotirao’s family, known as Gorhays, came from Katugan, a village in the Satara district of Maharashtra. His grandfather Shetiba Gorhay settled down in Poona. Since Jotirao’s father and two uncles served as florists under the last of the Peshwas, they came to be known as ‘Phules’. Jotirao’s mother passed away when he was hardly one year old. After completing his primary education, Jotirao had to leave the school and help his father by working on the family’s farm. Jotirao’s marriage was celebrated when he was not even thirteen.
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Education:
Impressed by Jotirao’s intelligence and his love for knowledge, two of his neighbours, one a Muslim teacher and another a Christian gentleman persuaded his father Govindrao to allow him to study in a secondary school. In 1841, Jotirao got admission in the Scottish Mission’s High School at Poona. It was in this school that he met Sadashiv Ballal Govande, a Brahmin, who remained a close friend throughout his life. Both Jotirao and Govande were greatly influenced by Thomas Paine’s ideas and they read with great interest Paine’s famous book ‘ The Rights of Man’. Moro Vithal Valvekar and Sakharam Yashwant Paranjapye were two other Brahmin friends of Jotirao who in later years stood by him in all his activities. After completing his secondary education in 1847, Jotirao decided not to accept a job under the Government.
Source of Inspiration:
An incident in 1848 made him aware of the qualities of the caste system, the predominant position of the Brahmins in the social set up. He was invited to attend a wedding of one of his Brahmin friends. As the bridegroom was taken in a procession, Jotirao accompanied him along with the relatives of his Brahmin friend. Knowing that Jotirao belonged to the Mali caste which was considered to be inferior by the Brahmins, the relatives of the bridegroom insulted and abused him. Jotirao left the procession and returned home. With tears in his eyes, he narrated his experience to his father who tried to pacify him. After this incident Jotirao made up his mind to defy the caste-system and serve the Shudras and women who were deprived of all their rights as human beings under the caste-system.
Social Life:
Education of women and the lower caste, he believed, deserved priority. Hence at home he began educating his wife Savitribai and open girl’s school in August 1848. The orthodox opponents of Jotirao were furious and they started a vicious campaign against him. He refused to be unnerved by their malicious propaganda. As no teacher dared to work in a school in which untouchables were admitted as students, Jotirao asked his wife to teach the girls in his school. Stones and brickbats were thrown at her when she was on her way to the school. The reactionaries threatened Jotirao’s father with dire consequences if he did not dissociate himself from his son’s activities. Yielding to the pressure, Jotirao’s father asked his son and the daughter-in-law to leave his house as both of them refused to give up their noble endeavour.
Though the school had to be closed for sometime due to lack of funds, Jotirao re-opened it with the help of his Brahmin friends -Govande and Valvekar. On 3rd July, 1851, he founded a girls’ school in which eight girls were admitted on the first day. Steadily the number of students increased. Savitribai taught in this school also and had to suffer a lot because of the hostility of the orthodox people. Jotirao opened two more girls’ schools during 1851-52. In a memorial addressed to the Education Commission (popularly known as the Hunter Commission) in 1882, he described his activities in the field of education - ‘A year after the institution of the female school I also established an indigenous mixed school for the lower classes, especially the Mahars and Mangs. Two more schools for these were subsequently added. I continued to work and whereas them for nearly nine to ten years.’
Jotirao was aware that primary education among the masses in the Bombay Presidency was very much neglected. He argued that ‘a good deal of their poverty, their want of self-reliance, their entire dependence upon the learned and intelligent classes’ could be attributed to the ‘deplorable state of education among the peasantry’. He blamed the British Government for spending profusely a large portion of revenue on the education of the higher classes. According to him, this policy resulted in the virtual monopoly of all the higher offices under the Government by the Brahmins.
Jotirao boldly attacked the stranglehold of the Brahmins, who prevented other from having access to all the avenues of knowledge and influence. He denounced them as cheats and hypocrites. He asked the masses to resist the tyranny of the Brahmins. All his writings were variations on this theme. His critics made fun of his ignorance of grammar and philology, his inelegant language and far-fetched interpretations of India history and the ancient texts. They brushed his criticism aside by saying that he was merely echoing what the Christian missionaries had said about the Indian society in general and Brahmins in particular. The established scholars in his time did not take Phule’s arguments seriously. His critics did not realise that Jotirao’s acrimonious criticism was basically a spontaneous outburst of a genuine concern for the equal rights of human beings. Emotionally he was so deeply involved in his work that he could not make a dispassionate analysis and take a detached view of the social forces. Jotirao’s deep sense of commitment to basic human values made it difficult for his to restrain himself when he witnessed injustice and atrocities committed in the name of religion by those who were supposed to be its custodians.
Widow Marriage Initiated:
Widow remarriages were banned and child-marriage was very common among the Brahmins and other upper castes in the then Hindu society. Many widows were young and not all of them could live in a manner in which the orthodox people expected them to live. Some of the delinquent widows resorted to abortion or left their illegitimate children to their fate by leaving them on the streets. Out of pity for the orphans, Jotirao Phule established an orphanage, possibly the first such institution founded by a Hindu. Jotirao gave protection to pregnant widows and assured them that the orphanage would take care of their children. It was in this orphanage run by Jotirao that a Brahmin widow gave birth to a boy in 1873 and Jotirao adopted him as his son.
Manyawar Kanshi Ram Ji decided that he will develop a society which will work to spread the thoughts of Dr Ambedkar and other social reformers and will never sell themselves for a small gain. He independently started organizing the employees of Scheduled castes, Scheduled Tribes and Backward Classes mainly from Pune, Bombay , Nasik , Nagpur and Delhi .
He traveled all over the India along with his few activists to know why Caravan of Dr Ambedkar was brought back rather than taking ahead. During these days he never bothered about his health, food, transport and worked tirelessly to awaken the educated employees. Organization of employees of Backward Class and Religious Minorities, after doing a necessary preparatory work within a period of five years decided to float an organisation in 1973. As a result of it, and as per the vision of Dr. Ambedkar, Kanshi Ramji’s started his first organization on 6 th December 1978 in Delhi , called as BAMCEF. Subsequently, he formed Buddhist Research Center (BRC), DS-4 and BSP.
For sometime, Jotirao worked as a contractor for the government and supplied building material required for the construction of a huge barrage at Khadakvasala near Poona. He had a direct experience of working with the officials of the Public Works Department which was notorious as well as a hotbed of corruption. Except the British officers holding very high positions in the Department, the clerks and other officers were invariably Brahmins and they exploited the illiterate workers. Jotirao felt it necessary to explain to the workers how they were duped by the Brahmin officials. In one of the ballads composed by him, he described vividly the fraudulent practices resorted to by the Brahmin officials in the Public Works Department (printed at the end of ‘Slavery’).
Equal Rights to Untouchables in Society:
In 1868, Jotirao decided to give access to the untouchables to a small bathing tank near his house. In his controversial book called Slavery published in June, 1873 Jotirao included a manifesto which declared that he was willing to dine with all regardless of their caste, creed or country of origin. It is significant that several newspapers refused to give publicity to the manifesto because of its contents. His book slavery was severely criticised for its ‘venomous propaganda’ against the Brahmins. Jotirao dedicated this book ‘to the good people of the Unites States as a token of admiration for their sublime, disinterested and self-sacrificing devotion in the cause of Negro Slavery’. The book is written in the form of a dialogue. After tracing the history of the Brahmin domination in India, Jotirao examined the motives and objects of cruel and inhuman laws framed by the Brahmins. Their main object in fabricating these falsehoods was to dupe the kinds of the ignorant and to rivet firmly on them the chains of perpetual bondage and slavery which their selfishness and cunning had forged. The severity of the laws as affecting the Sudras and the intense hatred with which they were regarded by the Brahmins can be explained on no other supposition but that there was, originally between the two, a deadly feud arising from the advent of the soil while the Brahmins argued that the Sudras were the sons of the soil while the Brahmins came from outside and usurped everything that was possessed by the Sudras. He also claimed that what he had described in his book was ‘not one hundredth part of the rogueries’ that were generally practised on his ‘poor, illiterate and ignorant Sudra brethren’.
Satya Shodak Samaj Formed:
On 24th September, 1873, Jotirao convened a meeting of his followers and admirers and it was decided to form the ‘Satya Shodhak Samaj’ (Society of Seekers of Truth) with Jotirao as its first president and treasurer. Every member had to take a pledge of loyalty to the British Empire. The main objectives of the organisation were to liberate the Shudras and Ati Shudras and to prevent their exploitation by the Brahmins. All the members of the Satya Shodhak Samaj were expected to treat all human beings as children of God and worship the Creator without the help of any mediator. The membership was open to all and the available evidence proves that some Jews were admitted as members. In 1876 there were 316 members of the ‘Satya Shodhak Samaj’.
Sarvajanik Dharma Pustak Published:
Jotirao refused to regard the Vedas as sacrosanct. He apposed idolatry and denounced the Chaturvarnya. In his book Sarvajanik Dharma Pustak published in 1891, his views on religious and social issues are given in the form of a dialogue. According to him, both men and women were entitled to enjoy equal rights and it was a sin to discriminate between human beings on the basis of sex. He stressed the unity of man and envisaged a society based on liberty, equality and fraternity. He was aware that religious bigotry and aggressive nationalism destroy the unity of man.
Victoria Orphanage Founded:
In 1876, Jotirao was nominated as a member of the Poona Municipality. He tried to help the people in the famine stricken areas of Maharashtra when a severe famine in 1877 forced people in the rural area to leave their villages. Some of them had to leave their children behind and an appeal issued on 17 May 1877 by Jotirao indicates that the Victoria Orphanage was founded under the auspices of the Satya Shodhak Samaj to look after these unfortunate children. From the beginning of the year 1879 Krishnarao Bhalekar, one of his colleagues, edited a weekly called Deenbandhu which was the organ of the Satya Shodhak Samaj. The weekly articulated the grievances of the peasants sand workers. Deenbandhu defended Jotirao when Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, a powerful spokesman of the conservative nationalists, attacked Jotirao’s writing in the most vitriolic style.
Narayan Meghaji Lokhande was another prominent colleague of Jotirao. Lokhande is acclaimed as the Father of Trade Union Movement in India. From 1880 onwards, he took over the management of Deenbandhu which was published from Bombay. Along with Lokhande, Jotirao also addressed the meetings of the textile workers in Bombay. It is significant that before Jotirao and his colleagues Bhalekar and Lokhande tried to organise the peasants and the workers, no such attempt was made by any organisation to redress their grievances.
One of the charges levelled by Jotirao against the leaders of the Brahmo Samaj and the Prarthana Samaj, the Sarvajanik Sabha and the Indian National Congress was that despite their programmes, in reality, they did very little to improve the lot of the masses. He felt that these organisations were dominated by the Brahmins and were not truly representative in character. In his booklet called Satsara (The essence of Truth) published in June, 1885, he criticised the Brahmo Samaj and the Prarthana Samaj. Addressing their leaders he declared, ‘We don’t need to help of your organisations. Don’t worry about us.’ In his book, Sarvajanik Satya Shodhak Dharma Pustak, a posthumous publication, he observed that the peasants and the untouchables were not members of either the Sarvajanik Sabha or the Indian National Congress. He warned that the persistent demand made by these organisations for Indianisation of the administrative services, if accepted, would lead to Brahminisation of the services in India. He thought that it was difficult to create a sense of nationality so long as the restrictions on dining and marrying outside the caste continued to be observed by people belonging to different castes. Education of the masses would promote the process of nation making.
It should be remembered that just Jotirao did not mince words when he criticised the leaders of the reformist movement, he was equally fearless in criticising the decisions of the alien rulers which did not contribute to the welfare of the masses. When the Government wanted to grant more licences for liquor-shops, Jotirao condemned this move, as he believed that addiction to liquor would ruin many poor families. On 30th November, 1880, the President of the Poona Municipality requested the members to approve his proposal of spending one thousand rupees on the occasion of the visit of Lord Lytton, the Governor-General of India. The officials wanted to present him an address during his visit to Poona. Lytton had passed an Act, which resulted in gagging the press, and Deenbandhu, the organ of the Satya Shodhak Samaj, had protested against the restrictions on the right to freedom of the press. Jotirao did not like the idea of spending the money of the taxpayers in honouring a guest like Lytton. He boldly suggested that the amount could be very well spending on the education of the poor people in Poona. He was the only member out of all the thirty-two nominated members of the Poona Municipality who voted against the official resolution.
Another incident also revealed his attachment for the poor peasant and his courage in drawing the attention of a member of the British royal family to the sufferings of the farmers in rural area. On 2nd March, 1888, Hari Raoji Chiplunkar, a friend of Jotirao, arranged a function in honour of the Duke and Duchess of Connaught. Dressed like a peasant, Jotirao attended the function and made a speech. He commented on the rich invitees who displayed their wealth by wearing diamond-studded jewellery and warned the visiting dignitaries that the people who had gathered there did not represent India. If the Duke of Connaught was really interested in finding out the condition of the Indian subjects of Her Majesty the Queen of England, Jotirao suggested that he ought to visit some nearby villages as well as the areas in the city occupied by the untouchables. He requested the Duke of Connaught who was a grandson of Queen Victoria to convey his message to her and made a strong plea to provide education to the poor people. Jotirao’s speech created quite a stir.
Throughout his life, Jotirao Phule fought for the emancipation of the downtrodden people and the struggle, which he launched at a young age ended only when he died on 28th November, 1890. He was a pioneer in many fields and among his contemporaries he stands out as one who never wavered in his quest for truth and justice. Though he was often accused of fomenting hatred between the Brahmins and the non-Brahmins, very rarely an attempt was made to consider his scathing criticism in a broad perspective. The later generations also took considerable time to understand and appreciate the profound significance of his unflinching espousal of the ‘rights of man’ which remained till the end of his life a major theme of his writings and a goal of his actions.